The Noble House of Weasley
by Rudeandgingerallonsy
Summary: Canon up to end of DH except for the Weasleys being rich, a few people acting OC, and Bill/Katie. One year after the Battle of Hogwarts, the Ministry feels obligied to instate a marriage law. Focuses on more than just Ron/Hermione. Please R&R!
1. Welcome to Paradise

**My take on the marriage law. Weasleys are a noble family (rich, some characters act OC, but none are Voldemort/pureblood-is-better supporters). Pairings: Ron/Hermione, Harry/Parvati, Fred/Angelina, George/Alicia, Charlie/Luna, Bill/Katie. No Ginny. **

**Review to let me know if you want any specific POVs/events! **

**Please R&R! I'll update at ten reviews! **

**Chapter Title credit to Green Day. I do not own Harry Potter, etc.**

**-Adrienne**

* * *

Hermione glared at the large manor home in front of her, willing it to burn with the sheer power of her raging thoughts. She was furious. Absolutely furious. Following the war, the ministry had been alarmed by the drastically dropping wizard birth rate, coupled with the raising percent of squib births, and had felt obligated to act. The heinous law, dubbed the Espousal Act, required all magical peoples aged 17 to 35 to marry within two years of its issue. She had been so furious at the prospect of arranged marriage – especially one legally necessary to remain within the wizarding community, with Ministry assigned partners no less.

Now, she was obligated to meet with her new "fiancé" (she scorned the word in such a situation) in this large, cold, unwelcoming house. She had met him at school, where they had been in the same classes, and even the same house. The Weasleys, of course, were quite famous throughout the wizarding world: a whole hoard of young, eligible, wealthy bachelors, one or the other was constantly in Witch Weekly. She had been told she was lucky to be assigned to one of the Weasley Boys, as they were known; the snobby secretary she had argued with even told her it was only because of her part in the war efforts she got such a "good" match.

But Hermione knew Ron; she knew his sneering, disgusting, tactless ways. He went through girl the way most wizards went through quills. She despised the womanizer more than anyone in her year, even more than Draco Malfoy.

The brunette stood glaring at the large door, before it was opened by a confused looking house-elf. Hermione's blood surged; that was the last straw. How could she be expected to marry into a family that kept SLAVES, for Merlin's sake?!

* * *

Ron slouched in his seat, not at all impressed he had to spend the evening having a formal dinner with his family and that buck-toothed know-it-all bitch that the ministry had decided he was to marry and not in the pub chatting up girls with his friends. At least Harry would be there too - then again, the golden boy would probably be too preoccupied by the girl he had been "randomly" assigned, Parvati Patil. How convenient for Harry.

All of his brothers with the exception of Bill, who had married Katie Bell a year a half earlier and had a young son with her, had been bachelors before the law. Mum was over the moon; Dad's position in the ministry as a Wizengamot Elder had secured her some subtle sway in the decisions, and every son's worst nightmare came true: Mum chose their future wives, and there was absolutely nothing they could do about it.

Mum absolutely adored Katie, and had been thrilled when Bill and Katie got engaged a few days after Bill was mauled by Greyback. The war-worn couple had been desperate to marry quickly, before anything else could threaten to pull them apart, and got married Christmas Eve of the same year. It was a beautiful winter wedding, but Molly often commented wistfully that she had wished she had more time – and the freedom the end of the war gave – to plan a bigger, more extravagant ceremony, and it seemed now she'd get her wish – five times over, six if you included Harry, which it appeared she was.

He sat in the front parlor with his brothers, snickering as Fred, George, and Charlie told him and Harry in whispers about their latest rendezvous with muggle girls. The Weasleys had never been Voldemort supports, and didn't support muggle-baiting of any kind, but the muggle world gave them the anonymity to be typical rich boys without the bad press they'd get in Diagon Alley. Mum was in the kitchen overseeing the house-elves preparing dinner, Percy and Arthur were in a corner discussing politics, and Bill was yet to arrive. A house elf apparated into the living room, bowing low in front of Dad.

"Master's guests is arrived," The small creature squeaked, and Arthur nodded, standing up.

"Thank you, Morter," the Weasley patriarch said, surveying his assembled sons. "Have you informed Molly?" The elf nodded.

"Mistress is on hers ways," it reported, and Arthur nodded before dismissing it.

"All right boys, here we go."

* * *

Molly smiled as she watched the exchanges between her sons and their new beloveds, seemingly oblivious to the awkward movements, lulls in conversation, and death glares. All she ever wanted was for all her sons – Harry included – to have large, happy families, a dream that only grew in intensity after her poor, darling Ginny's death.

She had managed to convince some of her friends among Arthur's colleagues that they might help her get the outcomes for her son's wives that she wanted, and she had succeeded, much to her delight. For Charlie, she had chosen Luna Lovegood, a sweet but airy girl whose mother Molly had known back when they had been poor country-folk living in Ottery . She had heard that her old friend's young daughter was now motherless and left to life with the eccentric Xenophilius, and she had taken action. She figured both her son and Luna had an interest in magical creatures, and would get along wonderfully.

For Percy, her decision had been harder. She knew Percy would not want to miss much work to be home with his wife, and she didn't want to choose a wife for him that would get angry and run off with the sweep that came to clean the fireplace or something just as dreadful. The wizarding world did not have divorces, and she did not want a broken home for her grandbabies; for she did want grandbabies, many, many grandbabies. So, she chose Penelope Clearwater for him. The two had gotten along well in Hogwarts, and she hoped to reconnect the school sweet-hearts.

Fred and George had been harder to pair. She needed girls that would put up with their pranks with patience but with firmness, who would help them mature. And, they must get along; the twins were together constantly. She had decided to choose two of Katie's friends, who she remembered played with the twins on the Gryffindor quiddich team, deciding they'd be accustomed to the twin's ways, and be comfortable with it: Angelina Johnson and Alicia Spinnet. She knew they and Katie were still quite close, and the pairings made sense.

Ron had been harder for her. She knew her youngest was a handful; he was tactless, but quite high maintenance. She needed a girl patient and kind and completely in love with him, but she knew her youngest had himself an unfavorable reputation. Her problem had been solved when the minister subtly suggested that she match him with Harry's friend Hermione, and her problems had been over with ease.

Harry, of course, had gotten to all but choose his fiancée directly through the minister. Parvati was one of the prettiest girls in their year, the other being her twin sister Padma.

Penelope had turned up first, followed by Angelina and Alicia, who arrived together. Molly ignored their less-than-pleased expressions; once they got used to the law, they'd be thrilled to be marrying her little boys. Padma had appeared, followed by a furious-looking Hermione, who was being escorted by an airy looking Luna.

The floo whooshed, and her oldest son stepped out, one arm wrapped around his short wife's waist. Molly beamed at the tiny bundle in Katie's arms, hurrying over to them.

"Sorry we're late, Mum," Bill said as she arrived in front of them. "Henry wasn't happy about having to stop playing." Molly waved off his apologizes, already reaching out to the grumpy little boy. He was chubby, like all babies were, and his frown and pout were almost identical to the ones Bill used to wear. Katie let Molly scoop up Henry, who saw his Grandmum and smiled slightly. He was soon giggling as Molly cooed over him and took him over to see Granddad. The elder Weasleys absolutely adored their only grandchild, and Molly was very pleased that Katie let them see him on an almost daily basis. She was sure her other daughter-in-laws would do the same in a year or two's time. At that moment, Molly saw a warm, happy future full of love, happiness, and children for her family.

She had desperately underestimated the free will of the young adults in the room.


	2. Let The Flames Begin

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**Please, please, PLEASE review! Let me know if you want to see any particular events or POVs :)**

**-Adrienne**

**Characters/etc. to JKR, title credit to Paramore**

* * *

Bill sat near Dad, Charlie, and Percy in Dad's study. The women and Henry were in Mum's lounge, where Henry was undoubtedly happily accepting the various toys and treats being showered over him. The other boys were by the fire, no doubt waiting until they could leave. Dinner was done, but the evening wouldn't be over for another few hours.

"So there really are no loopholes?" Bill asked, trying to imagine being forced to marry someone he didn't love.

"None at all," Percy said immediately, a hint of pride in his voice. He was one of the wizards that worked for one of the wizards that worked for one of the wizards in charge of the operation.

"It's shite," Charlie muttered angrily. Charlie had no interest in being a husband or a father; he simply wanted to work with dragons. The law was requiring him to move back to the UK, and the Welsh dragon preserves were nowhere near as impressive as the Romanian ones.

"When the expected increase in births resulting from the end of the war failed to come, the ministry was forced to take extreme action," Percy sniffed, and Charlie rolled his eyes.

"So what are the…requirements?" Bill said, trying to figure out the correct terminology for this situation. Rules made it sound like a game, but he couldn't think of anything better. Regulations?

"Every magical person between the ages of 17 and 35 must marry within two years, and a child must be, ah, produced within five, with at least two more following by the time ten years had passed," Dad said.

"An heir," Percy corrected his father, and Bill raised his eyebrows.

"What's the difference?"

"An heir is a witch or wizard. Squib children do not count. That's where the law applied to you, too," Percy said, and Bill felt anger burn through his veins. He could, to a certain extent, understand why the ministry was requiring more children to be born. But he absolutely did not agree with calling magical children "heirs" and their squib siblings as lesser. They had just fought a war arguing that exact point, for Merlin's sake!

"I already have a son," Bill said in a dangerous voice. "And don't you dare suggest he is lesser than anyone else." Arthur sensed Bill's rage, and eager to stop a duel, cut across Percy's reply.

"How are they expecting to know if a child is magically anyway? Some children don't display magic until they're eight or nine," he asked calmly. Percy sniffed.

"The Hogwarts attendance list. It registers magical children as soon as they're born. The minister is demanding McGonagall hands it over."

"You're just asking to make a lower class of people again, aren't you? Haven't you learnt anything?" Bill demanded, standing up. Several people looked up at him in surprise. Bill was normally very level-headed and calm; he wasn't the type to blow up, especially not at one of his younger brothers. "And for your information, Henry already does unintentional magic," He spat, storming out of the room.

* * *

Katie scooped her small son up from the blanket she had been changing him on, smiling at his chubby face. He was staring at a large, colorful vase in the corner of the spare bedroom, and his hand was half in his mouth. He seemed to feel her gaze, and looked up at her before smiling. She laughed; he was adorable, and she loved him more than anything in the world.

She waved her wand at the supplies she had spread on the bed and they all put themselves away in her baby bag. She slung it over her shoulder and carried Henry out of the room, heading back to her mother-in-law's lounge.

Her own mother, a muggle, was not pleased when she found out about Katie's engagement at age 17, nor her wedding just over five months later. She had immediately assumed Katie was hiding a pregnancy, and had been horrified to find out her daughter was marrying a man that would always be part, if not full, werewolf. Their strained relationship had gotten even worse when Katie's mother had found out about Katie getting pregnant with Henry a few months after the wedding, since at the time healers were encouraging the young mother to not risk a pregnancy with a child that could very easily be a werewolf and kill Katie during the pregnancy or delivery.

Now, with her 20th birthday just a few months away, Katie was a war veteran, a wife, and a mother, and she was much closer to Molly than her own mother. She was close to her father, though, a wizard, who was no longer with Katie's mother, but he was a very busy, very important businessman and was hardly the type to sit down for tea on a Tuesday morning and talk about Henry's most recent developments, no matter how much he loved his grandson.

When she arrived in Molly's parlor, she wonder vaguely what it would be like to be one of these girls. They were all older than she had been when she got engaged – some were older than she was now – but she had been completely and truly in love, and some of these girls barely knew their soon-to-be spouses. She felt Henry squirm against her neck, and knew he was trying to get comfortable so he could have a nap. It was quite late for the little boy, and she smiled as she sat down on the sofa near Molly. He stilled, head burrowed into her neck, her hair covering him like a curtain.

"Oh, is my poor darling tired?" Molly asked, and Katie smiled at her mother-in-law, despite internally wondering if the older woman actually expected a response.

"How old is he?" A blonde woman asked. Katie tried to remember who she was; she had been a few years older than her in school. Patty? No, Penny! That was it; Percy's…er…new girlfriend?

"He's four and a half months," Katie said proudly.

"He's adorable," Alicia cooed, and Katie beamed at her old friend. She wasn't as close to her fellow chasers as she had been back at Hogwarts, but they were still friendly.

"I'm sure Henry will be a common name in the upcoming years, especially with all of the forced pregnancies," Hermione said suddenly. "Not as common as Harry, of course, but still." Everyone stared at the brunette witch, not quite knowing what to say. Katie wasn't sure if it had been intended as an insult, but she felt vaguely offended. Her baby wasn't common; he was Henry. Her Henry was the most beautiful little boy in the world and would grow into a wonderful young man, just like his daddy.

"Yes, well," Molly said after a few long seconds of silence. "Our Henry is very special."

"It's strange that soon we'll all be mothers," Angelina commented, leaning against the sofa across from Molly and Katie's. The others nodded, some more enthusiastically than others.

"Oh yes, we'll have to start planning the weddings soon," Molly said happily, seizing the opportunity to talk about what was fast becoming her favorite subject – well, other than Henry and any other grandchildren that were to follow. "Do any of you have any ideas?" Katie bit back laughter at the shocked, embarrassed faces in front of her.

"I think they'll be wanting to talk to the boys before you can start planning, Mum," Katie said, and several of the girls shot her grateful looks.

"Yes, well, of course," Molly waved her off. "But really, I think we should stagger the weddings. Some in the spring, some winter, some summer – even fall. Do you think this fall would be too early?" Molly began, and soon she was off on a long speech about the various times to hold weddings, themes, flowers, dresses, and everything in between. Katie had stopped paying attention, simply agreeing when Molly asked her opinion, and was busy stroking Henry's tiny tuft of red hair when Bill suddenly appeared in the doorway.

"I think it's time for us to be off, if that's alright with you," he said to her, and she nodded, concerned by the barely concealed anger in his eyes. She stood up, and he strode over to her, scooping the still-sleeping Henry into his arms. He kissed his mother on each cheek. "I think it's time to get Henry to bed. I'll see you on Sunday, Mum. Goodnight ladies." Katie said her hasty goodbyes and hurried to follow Bill out of the room.

"Bill, wait!" she called softly after him as he walked into the floo room twenty feet ahead of her. He stopped, lips set in a thin line, waiting for her. "Sweetheart, what's wrong?" She asked worriedly. Bill was always calm and cheerful; the only times he got upset were when someone hurt his family or, more recently, when something happened to remind him of Greyback's attack.

"Later," Bill said firmly, giving her a peck on the lips, before taking her hand and leading her into the fireplace. She got the floo powder and Bill put both arms around Henry – they didn't want him flying away during the spinning, after all – and she called out "York Place!" and off the spun.

* * *

"Don't forget to come to Sunday Dinner!" Molly had shouted at their retreating backs as Hermione and the other girls left the Burrow a few hours after Bill and Katie. Some waved in acknowledgment, but others – Hermione among them – just rolled their eyes.

"I can't believe this," Hermione muttered angrily. She had been holding on to some small ounce of hope that Ronald had magically changed, but their meeting made it obvious he hadn't. He'd practically ignored her the entire time, and then disappeared right after dinner! It wasn't that she particularly wanted his company, but she was at his house as his, for lack of a better term, date for the evening! The other brothers had at least vaguely spoken to their partners, even Charlie with that ditzy Lovegood girl. She had been left standing alone, and she was horribly embarrassed, and angry at herself for being so.

She had point-blank refused to eat anything served by house elves, so she was absolutely starving by this point. She apparated to a small supermarket by her apartment and bought a microwave dinner, before hurrying home and putting it in. She didn't own many muggle appliances, but she didn't cook, and so she had deemed this necessary.

Hermione lived in a muggle neighborhood, just twenty minutes outside of London. She had gotten a job at the ministry in the Department of Control of Magical Creatures, and she was thrilled to be working on a new House Elf Bill of Rights. That was another reason she couldn't marry Ronald – how embarrassingly drastically would her credibility drop if it was found that her husband owned the very creatures she was trying to free?

As she stabbed her gooey lasagna with a fork, she wished bitterly she had been assigned someone else. True, Ronald hadn't supported You-Know-Who, but Molly had been dropping hints all night about how Weasley Women didn't work at jobs, they did charity work and stayed home to care for their husbands and children.

She was very proud of the work she was doing with House Elves, and other misunderstood magically creatures, and she refused to let Ronald Bilius Weasley take that away from her. She decided, right then and there, that's she'd find a way out of the law.

* * *

Molly pursed her lips as she returned to her parlor after bidding her guests goodbye. None of them, perhaps with the exception of Parvati, were quite up to her standards. The media spotlight was unforgiving; you had to dress and act and eat and speak correctly, or they'd have a field day publically humiliating you and your family. She and Arthur had both worked hard to be accepted into this society after Arthur had accepted the job in the Wizengamot, and she knew how much easier life was for people of their standard compared to way they had been twenty years ago. It opened up a world of opportunities, and it meant they never lacked clothes, or food, or shoes. She had tried hard to make sure her children weren't spoilt, but she did take pride in that they never wanted for the necessities, that they were always neat and tidy, that they would never be turned down for a job because they turned up for their interview in second hand robes.

She wanted her grandchildren to grow up with as many opportunities and as few unnecessary hardships as possible. She defiantly didn't want her grandchildren to grow up in a family which their mother, and by extension them and their father, were the laughing stock of the wizarding media. That would be horribly traumatizing for any young child, and children could be so mean, their cousins may turn against them. She hoped not, of course, but she would so much rather avoid the problem entirely.

She'd have to make sure that all of the girls had a shopping trip. Maybe the simply couldn't afford to clothe themselves correctly; she'd take care of that. She'd have to figure out how to teach them to act in polite company, too. She wasn't sure how to do so tactfully; she'd have to think of something quickly.

Maybe she could get Katie to do something to help. The young witch had taken very easily to the lifestyle requirements, although Bill had mentioned in passing that she would much rather be at home lounging in sweatpants than dressed up and out at a ball. But she put up with it graciously, and she was willing to accompany Molly on shopping outings.

Katie hadn't technically had a job when she and Bill got married; it had been in the War, and it wasn't a good idea for her to be out looking. She had joined the Order, although Bill had demanded she stop fighting for the duration of her pregnancy. Henry hadn't been born until after the Final Battle, so she'd never had to go back, and he was too young for her to bear parting with him yet.

Ah well. One way or another, Molly Weasley would get her way. She was sure of it.


End file.
